


A Love For The Dark

by GalaxyFoxy, raindropmagic27



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Original Character Death(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 15:55:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15688632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyFoxy/pseuds/GalaxyFoxy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/raindropmagic27/pseuds/raindropmagic27
Summary: Pitch spots a new target outside of town, but is thrown for a loop when the child's cousin unknowingly interferes with his plans. He can tell there's more about this girl than just a protective family member, but doesn't want to believe it. Story goes in arms with "A Love For The Dark" by raindropmagic27.





	1. Little Did He Know

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A love for the dark](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10633020) by [raindropmagic27](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raindropmagic27/pseuds/raindropmagic27). 



> Another port of an older story; this one also 2013. This was also written in collaboration with another author on here. She wrote the OC's point of view, whereas I wrote Pitch's. I've only written five chapters and let her take over the remaining 19 that are on her account. The inspired work should already be linked thanks to the associations option. I'm also gonna use these notes to translate what some of the dreams mean.

Eight at night; children were asleep. A lithe man stood at the top of a roof, watching figures of nightmarish horses gallop from house to house. Every so often, he would hear a loud scream, making him smile. Lights would flick on from those houses; his sign that the parents were trying to convince the child that he wasn't real.

His name was Pitch Black; The King of Nightmares. Pitch had been one of the most feared beings in all the land, but that was a  _long_ time ago. The Dark Ages, to be exact. At that time, he had turned his attention away from completely trying to destroy Tsar Lunar and towards the thought of power he could hold over such an insignificant and weak race like humans.

Humans were easy for him to manipulate. Since he had also learned how to change Sandman's Dream Sand into Nightmares, it only made it even easier. He could bring anyone's worst fears to life in their heads, again and again, and nothing would be able to stop him.

A lone car on the road caught his attention. From the back seat, he could notice a small child. "Oh," he spoke, his voice quiet, "A child who's still awake? Dysis!"

One of the mares stopped and turned, hearing her name. She galloped over to her master. He patted her neck before mounting her, "We're following that car."

Dysis reared up before chasing behind the car, which had gone just out of view.  _Just what do you plan to do?_ She burred, glancing back at Pitch. He smiled, "The child looked no older than five, she's probably scared of a lot of things."

The car came to a stop in front of a fairly nice house. Dysis jumped up, then dropped into the ground, taking Pitch into the shadows with her. Reemerging from a shadow in an empty room, Pitch caught the tail end of a conversation.

"Can you watch Tracey for a while?" an older woman asked, "I got called on a last minute business meeting. It will only be till Friday night."

"Sure I can," a younger woman replied. The length of time pleased Pitch. A full week of making new Nightmares from one child. It was perfect. This place was out of the way from town as well, so he could have these new Nightmares roam this area, giving anyone who inhabited it nightmares.

He stood back, hiding in the shadows as he heard the footsteps of the younger woman and Tracey approach. He could hear them talking idly, nothing that he really bothered to care about. He did catch another name though. Valeraine. He curled his lip slightly,  _French name for Brave, huh? We'll have to see how brave she'll actually be._

He overheard that Tracey wanted to go right to bed. He kept an eye on the girls, making note of when Valeraine was going to leave.

"Good night, Trace," she said, kissing her little cousin's forehead.

"Nighty night, Val."

Valeraine left soon after. It wasn't before long that Sandman's golden sand stream came into view. It swirled over Tracey's head for several minutes before becoming a discernible dream. Several different birds flew around the room, perching on lamps and the windowsill.

A bird chirped fearfully when Pitch stepped away from the shadows, making his way to the center of the dream, which was of herself and Valeraine watching the birds flying around.

"What a precious little dream!" Pitch exclaimed quietly, "Just to sit and watch the birds fly around, must be nice." He frowned slightly as one of the birds went to land on his shoulder. As its clawed, little foot touched him, the bird because to writhe in pain, slowly changing into a raven. The other birds also changed into a series of black-birds and vultures. Soon, the center of the dream warped.

The little sand Valeraine stood up and walked away before falling into black sand. Tracey winced and whimpered in her sleep, crying slightly. The Nightmare Sand slowly formed together, swirling into a new Nightmare. The new mare neighed and tossed her head in the air several times before galloping out the window and into the shadows.

Tracey woke with a start, screaming. She spotted Pitch, leaning over the bed. He smirked maliciously for a moment before muttering a single word to the fear filled child, "Boo."

The five year old jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs to Valeraine. He put his ear towards the open door, listening to the conversation.

"Tracey?" Pitch could hear the panic in the older's voice, "What's wrong?"

The fear filled child could only string her sentences together, "It's the Boogeyman! He's in the closet! I had a bad dream!"

Pitch scowled for a moment. How he despised that name. It demeaned him; mocked him.

"The.. what? I'm lost."

"I had a bad dream... That means the Boogeyman was here and he's most likely hiding in the closet. That's where he goes to hide."

 _The stories are supposed to be that I hide under beds, annoying little brat,_ Pitch thought, bitterly.

"Sweetie, the Boogeyman isn't real... and there's no such thing as a bad dream. You had a nightmare."

"He is too real! The nightmare was proof!"

 _At least the child isn't believing this girl's lies... for now._ He could hear the two making their way back towards the bedroom. He hid in the shadows, watching the girls closely. Valeraine inspected every inch of the room, including under the bed and in the closet. She must've spotted something, because Pitch could see the smile on her fair when she turned to say something.

"Oh, Mr. Boogeyman, you in here?" she asked in a sing-song voice. "See Trace, there's no Boogeyman in here."

That only made Pitch angry.  _I am here, you stupid girl,_ he wanted to yell at her,  _a little fear in your life would do you a little good._ He didn't speak though. He knew that only Tracey would be able to hear him, so it wasn't like it was going to do him any good.

He missed a large portion of the conversation, only catching, "And if he doesn't, then that proves he isn't real." Then, the lights went off. He saw Valeraine creep across the room. Pitch had to get to Tracey first.

"I believe in you now, Boogeyman. Come out, come out, wherever you are," she said in that sing-song voice again, pulling a blanket over her head. The comment made Pitch freeze up for a moment. Did she really?

"Boo! I'm the Boogeyman!" Pitch could hear Valeraine giggle as she began to tickle her cousin. The little girl screamed, but began to laugh, realizing it was only her cousin.

"The Boogeyman doesn't tickle people!" she laughed.

" _And_ he isn't real. Go back to bed."

Pitch furrowed his brow. The lights were back on, too bright for him to leave the shadows to scare Tracey again.

"You said you believed in him."

"Alright. Even if he  _is_ real, he can't get you... so long as I'm here."

"Promise?"

"Yes, now, please, go back to sleep."

"Can you sing me a song first? It will help me sleep."

Pitch saw Valeraine smile before she started singing. The song sounded familiar. As soon as Tracey was asleep, the lights went back out. Pitch retreated to the darkness and comfortable silence of the basement of the house for the remainder of the night.

"Damn children... it's so easy to find their fears, but to believe the words they say..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To dream of birds can symbolize your goals, aspirations, and hopes. Each bird means different things. As per usual, birds such as corvids and vultures have more negative meanings whereas songbirds are happy ones.


	2. Curiosity Killed The Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch gets the house to himself for the day, what does he think about? How to scare people, of course.

Pitch could hear quiet thumping of footsteps from upstairs. He figured it was morning. He couldn't rest, though.  _Even I have Nightmares..._ Pacing in the basement, Pitch tried to think of a new Nightmare to give to the youngest for the night.

He needed something to make her realize that he  _was_ real and that he  _was_  returning. The child was probably too young to remember when he almost succeeded in plunging the Earth into an new Dark Ages. He thought back to those moments.  _What did I do wrong? I was so close!_

"Oh? Who are the Guardians?"

Pitch perked up at hearing that sentence, garbled through the floors. His eyes narrowed towards the ceiling.

"Only the people responsible for making my life Hell," he responded, knowing that neither one of them could hear him. He was so close to beating all of them, including the one who stood in his way after he 'killed' Sandman.

"If only Sanderson stayed down. Frost should've just given up!"

He could still hear they were talking, but didn't exactly make out everything that was said. He caught another sentence.

"And you're weird if you think the Boogeyman is interesting."

"I'm more engrossing than you think, child. You're only a little light to me. Just another light that needs to be snuffed."

"Well, I am weird."

Pitch stopped breathing for a moment. His face dropped into a slight bit of shock upon hearing that comment. It was just like the night before all over again. He could hear the shuffling of chairs above him and their footsteps again.

Soon, there was total silence. Pitch emerged from the basement, keeping away from any light source. He looked at pictures that were around the house. He looked at the bookshelves. Seeing nothing that would really interest him, he made his way to the upstairs.

"This Valeraine has such a lovely home, for being as young as she is." He guessed she was in her early twenties, about twenty three, if he really had to guess. He could tell that she still felt like a child at heart, but wasn't sure why.

His thoughts soon strayed again. Pitch wandered aimlessly through the house, thinking about various things, including why Jack Frost hadn't just given up when he broke the staff. He made his way back to the basement, not really thinking about where he was walking.

A door from above opened, snapping Pitch back to reality. They had been out all day. He couldn't make out their chatter, but it faded as they made their way upstairs. He did the same, entering the shadows, seeing that Valeraine had turned the lights on. Hiding in the shadows, he could hear that they were upstairs, most likely in the bathroom. Most women bathed at night, did they not?

He went to the bookshelf again, slipping into the shadows behind it. The darkness was calming to him. He would have to wait for more talking before making a move. Tonight, he was going to make Valeraine believe as well.

Soon, he could hear Tracey's voice, "Story time now?"

That was his call to go up to the bedroom. When he entered, though, he really couldn't believe what was going on.

Tracey was telling the story to Valeraine. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? He shook his head, sitting in the darkened corner, curious about what this child's story could possibly be about.

"Tonight we'll talk about the Sandman. He's basically the opposite of the Boogeyman. He give us good dreams. He's the one adults should tell kids about. I don't get why you adults say why if we don't sleep, the Boogeyman will come get us. Why not say the Sandman will give us good dreams if we go to sleep?"

Pitch scoffed slightly, "Because adults don't need their kids bouncing around at night looking for Sanderson, that's why."

"I don't know, Trace. You have a good point."

"That I do! Now, continuing. The Sandman uses his sand not only to help us sleep, but to give us those good dreams we have every night."

"I remember hearing about the Sandman as a child," Valeraine hugged her knees. Pitch only watched. It was oddly curious hearing how a child perceived the Guardians.  _Perhaps learning how a child sees them could be my way of overtake them._

"Did you believe in him?"

"Yep. I used to rub my eyes in the morning and if they had 'sand' in them, I would joke that he used too much of his sleeping sand on me. I was also really afraid of the dark."

"You were?" Pitch could hear an almost tired tone in Tracey's voice now.

"Yeah, so, in a way, I guess I also believed in the Boogeyman."

"Are you still afraid of the dark?"

Pitch frowned slightly. Why would someone like Valeraine need to be afraid of the dark?

"At times... yes, I still am."

He looked up, his golden eyes locking onto Valeraine. He couldn't see that before. But... why? He studied her. She appeared to be single and it was obvious she lived in this house all by herself.  _It's not really the dark you're afraid of... it's the fear of being alone in the dark._  It made sense. Even he knew there were beings out there worse than he was.

"Nighty night, Val," Pitch heard Tracey say. He looked over at the child. She was smiling, clutching the blanket closely. She wasn't asleep yet, but he knew that would come quickly.

A thin vine of Nightmare Sand swathed around Pitch's arm. He walked out of the room, not noticing the Sand Stream making it's way into Tracey's room.

_She has a fear... a fear I can exploit, but... how? Her worst fears could be spawned off of thinking those fairytale monsters... what were they called... Slenderman? And Jeff? I make her believe they're lurking around. I could fake a robbery... there's so much I could do._

A small smile formed on his lips.  _Nightmares first._


	3. Calm Before The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More stories from Tracey as a storm starts to brew...

Pitch woke with a start.  _Damn it!_ he thought bitterly, gently hitting his fist against the floor. He missed out on an opportunity he probably wasn't going to have again. Pitch peered out the basement window.

It was a stormy day; just the kind of day he enjoyed. He could hear muffled laughing from upstairs, most likely from Tracey. He couldn't understand how that child was so eloquent with her comebacks to Valeraine, but brushed it off. It was better than the child being as dumb as nails.

Exiting the basement, he spotted Valeraine leaning on the counter, a pencil in her hand. Pitch approached her and looked over her shoulder. She was drawing him and Sandman. Pitch chuckled to himself,  _at least you're keeping me away from Sanderson. Your art could stand for a little work, though._

"What're you doing?" Pitch looked up, seeing Tracey skipping into the kitchen. He fell back into Valeraine's shadow before he could be noticed. He moved away from the girls and to a dark corner near the bookshelf.

Pitch toned out most of their conversation. He eyed the books again. It was no good to try and scare them now; it was just a little too bright yet.

"I'll be too scared alone and I don't have nightmares when you're around."

He turned,  _so the child is still scared._

"Aww, the Boogeyman doesn't want to join us? Do I scare him or something?"

Pitch scoffed and turned away, "As if."

"It's because you're loving," he turned back, anger in his eyes, "He hates love. It can overpower fear if strong enough."

"That's bullshit, child! I know you ignore me when you're around this woman, but that is a lie. There's fear in love, you're just too young to realize it yet. Your cousin is the perfect example of this. She's afraid of being alone, but others... they have another fear. The fear of becoming alone. That they're never going to be good enough for their partner!" he stopped to think for a moment.  _I'm having a one sided argument with a five year old that's pretending I don't exist right now. Wonderful._ He shook his head,  _I've been away from normal humans for too long._

Pitch stayed in the corner as the girls built their pillow fort. He was never one for being around such happy times, but, in a way, he considered this a bit of study. If Frost could manipulate people to have fun during scary times, perhaps he could find a way to manipulate fun into fear.

Two snack breaks. Pitch caught himself on multiple occasions eying the TV during certain parts of the movies they had watched during it. The first one,  _Beauty and the Beast_ someone found love in a frightening creature and changed him to normal. He didn't like that movie. He didn't even like the villain, Gaston.

He took a partial interest to the villain in the second movie,  _The Little Mermaid,_ though.  _If it weren't a children's movie, Ursula could've been made into a truly terrifying character,_ he thought.  _Come to think of it, that version of that story was numbed down for a child. The real story was much more_ _terrifying._

He started to zone a bit, trying to remember the original story for The Little Mermaid. He wasn't sure why he knew the story at all, but it was still in his head.

Soon, he could hear the mention of a familiar name.

"... And is tons of fun. He's the one who gives us snow days and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Jack Frost controls the snow?"

"The brat's irresponsible. He's a strong adversary, though. His strength goes to waste, though. He would've had so much more potential with me."

Pitch had gone on with a full blown rant about Frost, making him miss most of the conversation about the Tooth Fairy. A crack of thunder and Tracey gasping snapped Pitch back to his job.

He saw Tracey clinging to Valeraine's arm.

"It's only thunder, nothing to be afraid of."

"It's only Mother Nature doing her job... more than what I can say for myself."

He glanced back at the girls. Valeraine had tucked Tracey in and went back to work on her drawing. Pitch let his curiosity get the better of him again. She hung the picture up and walked towards him, unknowing. She walked right through him as she retired to the couch.

Slight sadness swept over Pitch as this happened. Even after hearing her cousin speak so happily of the other Guardians and even drawing a near spot on picture of him, she still didn't believe. He pulled the picture from the fridge.

"For someone who doesn't believe, you seem to know what everyone looks like, despite never seeing them."

He hung the picture back up and went to look out the window. It was a fairly nasty storm. He doubted the Nightmares were outside. He did see Sandman's sand boat, the golden streams making their way all through town.

Two of the streams snakes towards the house. He caught them before a 'good dream' could start. He didn't give either one of them any terrible nightmare that would make them wake. It was enough to create two new Nightmares before Sandman's sand could overtake his Nightmare Sand.

He went back to the window, seeing that Sandman's boat was almost directly over the front yard.

"And what about me, Sanderson? You used to give me those dreams of that girl, but now I have nothing. Nothing but nightmares. I may not know who she is, but I liked dreaming about her. Those dreams were the only thing that made me have what I don't have in the real world."

He could hear a clock ticking quietly. Glancing at it, he could see the time. Four-ten. He wasn't sure how much sleep he had gotten the night before, but it mustn't have been much, compared to how long he had been awake. He was awake for too long. It was getting too difficult to fight off sleep after staying awake for almost a month. It wasn't before long he slumped over in the corner of the room, curled into a ball, asleep.

The dream sand snaked over his head and swirled for several minutes before forming into several butterflies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dreaming of butterflies shows longevity, creativity, romance, joy, or spirituality. For Pitch, dreaming of butterflies means he dreams of joy. He dreams of his daughter, although, he doesn't understand that this girl is his daughter. He responds to this girl and poses as her father in his dreams, feeling bad for her, wishing he could have a family.


	4. Midnight Terror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch's finally getting to have some fun with the nightmares.

Pitch woke to the sound of rainfall. He wasn't sure how long he had slept, but it had felt oddly good. He glanced over at Tracey, who looked completely devastated. He could understand, a child so young being trapped inside the house for two days straight.

He rose from the floor and walked past, ignoring their conversation. It didn't really concern him.

"I hear noises; I think he's in your house."

Turning, he could see Tracey looking around, most likely for him. He smiled, knowing that Tracey was starting to acknowledged that he was still around. Making a shadow shift slightly was his response.

His thoughts would flick back to his dream. It was of that girl again. As Tracey spoke about hers, Pitch tried to get his off his mind. It was different last night. This time, he was dressed differently; in golden armor. He had greeted her with a simple, "I'm home, sweetie." They spent the majority of the dream sitting in a garden, watching butterflies flutter around.

"What's wrong, Trace?"

"He's in the basement."

Pitch smirked and walked behind Tracey. Tapping on her shoulder, he leaned down to her level. She turned, meeting face to face with him.

"Boo."

Tracey gasped and covered her face. He chuckled, "You're a smart kid, now, you just tell your cousin that I'm gone."

"Tracey, you're starting to freak me out."

Tracey did as she was told. As she did, though, the sun broke through the clouds. He glanced up, seeing that Valeraine was also looking directly at him. Pitch scowled and retreated to the basement.

"I love the zoo!"

"Leaving me alone, again? Alright, but I'll have something in store for you when you get back."

Hearing the door shut, Pitch returned upstairs. The sunlight was rather harsh, but he knew that it would change soon. He went to look at the sky, but retreated back into shadows. It was still fairly cloudy, most of which being storm clouds, which meant it was most likely going to rain again.

Pitch loved the rain. To be exact, he liked the fear that it brought, especially with thunder storms. So many people were terrified of thunder and lightning for no real reason. Mother Nature did give a pretty clear warning when lightning was going to strike and there was only a one in a million chance of actually getting struck by lightning. It was still a powerful fear and one that made him stronger.

He had explored the house the day before last, it wasn't like he needed to explore it again. He could hear a Nightmare, huffing from the guest room. Upon entering, he saw Dysis, his lead mare, waiting for him.

_What took you so long, master? Shouldn't we try and make mares in new areas?_

"Why do you question me? I told you, I came her to make mares, and that's what I'm doing."

_In this entire time you've been here, you've only made two mares._

"I've made three, unless Sanderson took one out last night."

_He did._

"Besides, I'm making two more tonight and two more tomorrow. Six mares should be enough to start a new herd in this area."

_Couldn't you just keep some of the birds over here?_

"The birds are still being worked on. They're disobedient. Now, go. The storm's bringing darkness again. Children and adults, alike, are going to be scared and you know that you need to be out in the field making sure none of the other mares get captured."

Dysis only shook her head.  _When will you learn?_ She trotted towards the wall, fading into the shadow. Pitch rolled his eyes, "When will  _I_ learn? I know what I did wrong and I'm not making the same mistake again."

A door downstairs opened. Pitch heard running, headed towards the guest room. He hid, not wanting to raise any flags to make Tracey want to sleep in the same room with Valeraine again. He noticed that she grabbed crayons and a coloring book.

Without a word, he went back downstairs and sat in the shadows, keeping an eye on the girls. It wasn't before long that they began their daily ritual before bedtime. He returned to the guest room, sitting in the chair in the corner. Valeraine sat on the end of the bed, letting Tracey take over.

"Tonight, I'll tell you about the Easter Bunny!"

"Oh yeah," Pitch muttered, "The last Pooka, damn thing."

"He's cool and awesome! And, of course, has Easter. He hides all the eggs for us to find and makes them pretty colors like purple!"

"If you find that attractive in any way."

He left the room before the rest of the conversation. He really wasn't interested in it. Returning to the basement, he planned on leaving. There was no sense in him staying if there was nothing to be gained.

It wasn't before long that he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He stepped back, knocking a box to the floor. A gasp caught his attention.

"Uhm, was that you, Mr. Boogeyman? You know, you have my cousin quite the scare earlier today."

"Yeah, so? You realize you're having a one-sided conversation since you can't hear me, right?"

"So, do you have a name? 'Cause, it's annoying to call you Boogeyman all the time."

"It's Pitch Black, again, not like you can hear me," he wondered why he was even trying to talk to her.

"Alright, look. Yeah, I will honestly say I believe in you, but I don't see you. So, prove me right if you're real; give me a nightmare or really weird  _un_ explained dreams. Or do you only do that to children?"

Pitch glanced over at Valeraine. Shadows shifted as he did, "If you really want a damn nightmare, I'll gladly give you one. You're afraid of being alone, amongst other minor...  _trivial_ things."

"OK... so, I'm going to stop talking. I'm getting creeped out down here, so, Good Night, Boogeyman."

Pitch only gave Valeraine a look.  _Good night? I figured you would've already guessed that I work at night,_ he thought. Gritting his teeth, he emerged from the basement. Watching Valeraine, he made sure that she was asleep and having a wonderful dream before approaching. It was one of few times that Pitch would actually enter someone's dream.

It seemed fairly normal. Pitch found Valeraine with, what he believe, was her family at a private waterfall oasis. The cliff the waterfall was coming from was fairly high up. He saw that the girl was at the edge, looking down.

Calling was coming from the bottom of the waterfall, "It's alright Val! We won't let anything happen to you!"

Pitch hovered over her, looking down at the pool below. Slipping into the shadows, he went behind the waterfall, seeing there was a cave behind it.  _Every dream has the potential to become a nightmare,_ he thought, returning to the top.

All it took was one little push. She wavered, turned to go to grab onto something. In that one second, Pitch could've sworn that he could see the fear in her eyes of seeing him. She fell, falling, tailbone first, into the water. He dove in after, knowing that Sandy was going to fight for this dream and have her family rescue her.

Grabbing her arm, he pulled her into the cave, making sure that her family couldn't find her. Once deep enough in, he released her arm and faded into the shadows, watching as she panicked slightly.  _Alone in the dark. Falling from heights. Let's try a common fear, shall we?_ With that thought in mind, a few spiders formed, some hanging from webs.

One spider, about the size of a tarantula, jumped from one wall to the other. A smile curled on Pitch's lips as a scream escaped Valeraine's. It was at that moment that Pitch had full control over the dream. He watched as Valeraine tore through the, now endless, cave. She wanted to escape. He knew it.

He gave her that luxury, at a price. A light at the end of the cave. There was hope in Valeraine's eyes as she ran towards it.

Another long fall. Pitch hovered on a cloud of Black Sand above, watching her fall. In a way, he felt bad, but she did ask for a nightmare. A loud splash and the cave was gone. There was nothing but water for miles. Pitch floated down to her level, making eye contact.

"Regret asking for a nightmare now?" he chuckled before leaving the dream.

Black Sand swirled over her head.


	5. A Fiery End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a disco inferno, baby

Pitch watched as Valeraine tossed and turned from her nightmare. She darted awake, gasping. He nodded in approval that he provided a Nightmare that she wasn't going to forget anytime soon.

"I had a nightmare? He's real? That's awesome!"

"Congratulations, you finally figured it out."

He went to walk away, but noticed that she had gotten up to do something. Deciding to stick around, he watched the girl closely. She first went to the bathroom, and then back to the kitchen. She switched on a light.

"You hate light, right? Here, this way I have light and you still have darkness to hide in."

Pitch cocked his head slightly. She was being extremely nice to someone she couldn't even see and this confused him. He watched as she pulled out her drawing again. She glanced at her drawing of him.

"That was you in my nightmare?" she laughed slightly, "Did you have to play with all my fears? That's not fair."

"Life's not fair."

She started doodling a design for Bunnymund. Once again, it looked just like the actual character.

"You never did tell me your name, Mr. Nightmare King."

"I did, but do go on calling me Nightmare King. I quite like that."

She froze for a moment, then looked up, making eye-contact with him. He froze as well. Did she finally see him outside of a nightmare?

"Pitch? I like the sound of that."

As she finished the drawing, Pitch couldn't help but stand there like a deer in headlights. That was direct eye-contact. Did she even realize it? She had to have! He shook his head.  _I've got to stop thinking about these things._

"Are you going to go away for good now that I know of you? I know you've been in the basement; most likely since my cousin got here. So, are you going to leave when she goes, or stay? I'm sure if you're like these Guardians, then you have a job to do, right? Makes me wonder why you'd even want to be in my house. My house is so boring."

"You house has been more entertaining for the past couple of days for you though, hasn't it? Yes, I will leave, I'm leaving today to be honest. I don't even know if you can hear me. And don't compare me to those... people. I'm nothing like them."

It wasn't before long until the sun started to peak over the horizon. Pitch didn't want to leave. He connected with this girl. He wasn't sure how, but he connected with her. She gave him respect that others didn't. She didn't just dismiss him as a bad dream, she addressed him as one. The ruler of them, to be exact.

He retreated to shadows, though. No sense in harming oneself over a stupid little thing. It wasn't before long he could hear thudding from upstairs. Tracey had woken. Muffled talking... This house was torture! He didn't like that he couldn't always make out what was being said, especially when he knew it was about him.

He paced the basement. The sky grew dark.  _Another storm? Rather odd, especially for this area._ He shook his head, looking up at the sky from the basement window.  _Mother Nature really must be upset. I wonder what would make her like this?_

It was concerning that Pitch still hadn't put two and two together. The storms progressively got worse as he stayed hidden from Mother Nature's view. Soon, another nasty thunderstorm rolled in. It was finally dark enough to return upstairs.

Valeraine twitched slightly, from a chill. She shrugged, not bothered about why it could've happened and went on about her day. Pitch noticed that there was a new figure on the drawing.

"North."

The day seemed much shorter. Val and Tracey did their usual thing, watched movies and played games, all the while Pitch watched. It was strange to actually stand back and study the humans' behavior, but it would help him later on.

The power to the whole house cut and scream from Tracey could be heard. This made the Nightmare King smile widely.  _Showtime._

"Don't worry, sweet-pea," Valeraine crooned softly at Tracey. This made Pitch roll his eyes. He could hear as they made their way to the kitchen. A flash of lightning illuminated Pitch's figure. He smirked down upon Valeraine and Tracey. It made the girls gasp, Tracey hiding her face in Val's shirt.

"That wasn't funny."

"Really now? Because I thought it was hilarious," he smirked. He tagged along behind the two, avoiding the beam from a flashlight that Val had given Tracey.

They made their way back to the living room. Val wrapped Tracey in a blanket; a security thought for many children. Val light several candles. It wasn't bright enough to cause harm, luckily, but it was still unpleasant.

"Val?"

"What is it, Trace?"

"Would you still be this brave if you were alone?"

Pitch watched as Val froze up at the question.

"Uhm... well, most likely not."

"Addressing your fears, you better not try and face them."

He listened to the girls talk for a whiles until the power came back. He winced and retreated into the basement. He knew it would be the final time he would retreat to her basement, but not in the way he had expected.

A large flash of lightning lit up the entire basement. It practically shook the house, had it struck it? Pitch's question to himself was soon answered as he spotted sparks from the breaker-box. A small fire erupted shortly after.

Without another word, Pitch escaped the house. He felt bad for not trying to save the girls, especially since he knew he would for that girl that was in his dreams, but, they were not that girl.

He strode into the forest and turned to watch the horror unfold. This wasn't the type of fear he really enjoyed. Yes, it was some of the sweetest, but, at the same time, it was some of the most painful. Fear of dying, it wasn't a pretty one.

"Oh my God!" he could hear Val scream in her house. No... he couldn't stay. He shouldn't have stayed, but, he did.

The only sounds that he could hear were the fire burning and the thunder from the storm. This lasted for several minutes, until he heard Tracey scream at the top of her lungs, "VAL!"

Pitch bolted towards the house. It was painful, but he had to try. He found Valeraine pinned under a burning support beam. He looked down at her. There was no way he could even attempt to redeem himself. He stepped back, fading from her view before leaving the house.

He retreated back to the forest. The fire department arrived, but it was too late. Valeraine was gone. Pitch couldn't stomach seeing Tracey crying. It reminded him of that girl from his dreams. He walked away.


End file.
